Grading all of the Minnesota Twins Trade Deadline Deals (and No-Deals)

The 2021 Trade Deadline was one of the most exciting in recent memory. Big name stars found new homes, top prospects were shuffled around, and teams bet big on this season or sold away the best they could. The Minnesota Twins fell squarely into the second category.

Sitting at 43-60 with the fifth worst record in baseball, the Twins needed to take advantage of the deadline and high prices in order to help out the franchise in the future. The team heard offers on a lot of key players, and remained true to their word that they wouldn’t take any offers on players signed for 2022 if they weren’t blown away.

This strategy saw four players dealt: Nelson Cruz, Jose Berrios, J.A. Happ, and Hansel Robles. Some of those names didn’t come as a shock to Twins fans. Some of the names that the Twins didn’t trade (Michael Pineda, Andrelton Simmons) also came as a shock. We’ll break down both categories.

The Minnesota Twins made several surprising moves at the deadline.

The Twins trade deadline was a definite success. The team added a lot of talent for the future and didn’t completely give up on the team to get it. They could have done more, for sure, but we’re here to offer up some grades for the deals that were made (as well as the ones that weren’t), starting off with Micha.